Characters
Overview As the game follows the lives of members of the prohibition era Chicago mafia, many of the characters are driven by their stance on the prohibition laws of the 1920s to 1933, during which a large portion of most communities were split between what were known as “Drys” – supporters of the prohibition laws, often led by pietistic protestants – and what were alternatively called “Wets” - who were against the prohibition laws and would see the alcohol trade reintroduced. The main cast of this game largely fall under the latter category, as they earn a great deal of business from the alcohol trade and are working to see it restored, whilst also making illegal dealings throughout, despite the great risk, for even greater reward. ' ' Protagonist(s) 'Throughout the game, the focus will switch between two different characters, following their stories as they progress separately and occasionally intertwine. These two characters, whilst identical in goals, have a hugely different set of morals and methods they find acceptable to achieve those goals. These two characters are called James and Helen. ' ' '''James '''James Brown was born into relative comfort early in life, his family owning a chain of bars and “saloons” that made a great deal of money from the sale of alcohol, his entrance into the criminal lifestyle is made upon the introduction of the 18th amendment to the American Constitution, as the banning of alcohol sales caused his family to fall into debt, he ultimately joined the Chicago mafia to help pay off these debts, despite his family being against this self sacrifice. Throughout the game, his actions and strong inner moral compass constantly come into conflict with the way the mafia is run, particularly when he is forced to extort or threaten others. However, as the game progresses James' choices can have both positive repercussions (and therefore strengthen his moral code) or horrifyingly negative consequences, pushing him further into the criminal lifestyle. ' ''' '''Helen Helen Garcia is a second generation immigrant whose parents came from the harsh criminal world of Mexico to the United States looking for a safer place to raise their daughter after Helen's mother became pregnant. Despite their best efforts, Helen grew to resent their attempts at sheltering her and left them at a young age to join the Chicago based criminal trade and smuggling world. Due to Helen's gender, she is often underestimated, with many of her “peers” attempting to take advantage of who they assume to be a clueless “working girl”, almost always at the cost of their health or their lives. Helen is ruthless, intelligent, manipulative and sometimes outright cruel, a harsh contrast to James, though in their few interactions she finds him to be tolerable as he does not take her lightly like so many others. Throughout the game, Helen must choose whether to take the path of deception and trickery to help further her own agenda, to become a key figure in the criminal world of Chicago, or to take a more brutish approach, which could lead to faster results, with even greater repercussions for failure.' The Chicago Mafia' Often referred to simply as “TCM” by members and law enforcement alike, the criminal underworld is almost entirely ran by the Mafia that the two “protagonists” work for. Spanning numerous operations and criminal enterprises, TCM is easily the most powerful affiliation to have in the criminal world, with hands in weapons trading, drug trading and thanks to the introduction of the 18th amendment, alcohol trading. However, there is an even darker aspect to this grim criminal organisation, the world of contract killing and kidnapping, a world which the two main characters can choose to avoid or partake in, with varying consequences. ' ' The Chicago Police Department 'Otherwise referred to as “The Bulls”, the Chicago PD is the primary opposing force to the Mafia, though, much like the Mafia, it's members all have their own agendas. Throughout the game, the player characters will come into contact with several different “bulls” and have multiple options when dealing with them. Many uniformed officers were, despite the illegality of it, all to happy to accept bribes of alcohol after the nationwide crackdown on alcoholic drinks, with some even acting as dirty officers, providing intelligence to members of the Mafia for the right prices. However, the same can be said in reverse, as the clean members of the PD often attempt to infiltrate and learn about the mafia from within, getting close to aspiring members or even the higher up figures themselves to assist in bringing everything the mafia has built crashing down. ' ''' '''Supporting Cast There are a number of supporting cast members throughout the game that play minor parts in the progression of the story of each character, including the family of James Brown, who often object to his life in the mafia to pay their debts, the higher up figures of the mafia who are the driving force for many of the decisions made by Helen Garcia and many other lower members of the mafia and PD, who can develop positive or negative relationships with both characters and hinder or help them throughout the story. Written by Jack Lawson RELATED Brief Setting Story Music Progression Mechanics